President Bola Tinubu, through the Ministry of Livestock, has made significant progress in resolving the nation’s ongoing herder-farmer conflict, according to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Livestock Development, Mr. Idris Ajimobi. 

He stated that the ministry, which the president recently created, has been making great efforts to pinpoint the underlying reasons for the issue, such as the scarcity of clean water and livestock feed, and to find creative solutions to these problems.

Speaking to reporters in the capital of Oyo State, Ibadan, Ajimobi said that the ministry’s strategy entails interacting with stakeholders, educating them about the value of teamwork, and offering answers to the problems that farmers and herders confront.

He said, “We are going back to the drawing board to identify all the problem sources and address them. We must engage the people while doing it, sensitise them, and carry them along because we cannot do it alone.”

“The ministry is also working to improve the quality of Nigerian beef and dairy production by providing farmers with the right inputs, such as clean water, food, and healthcare management for their livestock.” 

“The goal is to increase local production and reduce reliance on imported dairy products.”

“We want to get to a stage where every Nigerian child gets a pack of milk daily. We must increase our local production and work together collectively.”

“The ministry’s efforts have been met with enthusiasm from stakeholders, who are eager to see an end to the herders-farmers crisis. With a focus on collaboration and collective action, the Ministry of Livestock is poised to significantly impact the lives of Nigerians and the livestock industry.”

According to Idris, son of the late former governor of Oyo state, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, the ministry is trying to restore all 417 grazing reserves nationwide and at least two to three reserves in the next 12 to 18 months.

He said that the government has been discussing with domestic and international partners the prospect of utilising the grazing reserves to their full capacity.

“The target is to revive all the grazing reserves as much as possible. Unfortunately for us, some of them have gotten to a stage where you have weeds, aggressive weeds that are growing, that will make it inhabitable for livestock shortly.”

 “And so the intention is to revive all the grazing reserves as much as possible. We are speaking to foreign and local partners to see how we can key them in and who might be interested in what exactly, because there’s interest from all over. 

“So, yes, definitely, I know there are discussions to revive at least two or three of them within the next 12 to 18 months,” Ajimobi said.

Source: ThisDay

Image Credit: Intel Region